Weekly Report: Feb. 17

It was an eventful weekend for the Checkers, as they navigated a tough loss and a rain postponement but bounced back in a big way to close out their February home stand.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Wolf Pack 3, Checkers 2

The Checkers struck first in their series-opening matchup with Hartford on Saturday, but a quick burst of three straight goals over a seven-minute stretch for the Wolf Pack erased that lead and gave the visitors a stranglehold on the contest after one frame. Noah Gregor converted on a power play early in the second to narrow the deficit, but the Checkers couldn’t solve netminder Dylan Garand from there and time expired on their rally attempt.

Checkers 9, Wolf Pack 0

Unsafe ice conditions due to leaks in the Coliseum roof forced the rematch to be pushed back a day, with the puck dropping at noon on Monday. It took until the final five minutes of the first for Marek Alscher to open the scoring, but the Checkers would be off and running from there. Brian Pinho and Gregor each lit the lamp before the first buzzer to build a substantial lead for the home team, then the Checkers tacked on three more in the middle frame to blow the game wide open. The physical contest boiled over in the third and Charlotte took advantage of Hartford’s penalty trouble - scoring three times over the course of a five-minute major power play. Even with the staggering offensive output, the Checkers also smothered the Wolf Pack at every turn, with Kirill Gerasimyuk earning his third shutout of the season.

QUICK HITS

FILLING THE NET

Charlotte’s offense continues to rise up the league rankings, currently sitting fourth in the AHL and just .08 goals per game shy of Grand Rapids’ league-leading mark. That high mark is the product of some staggering single-game outputs this season for Charlotte - the team has scored at least five goals 12 times thus far. Taking that a step forward, the Checkers have scored at least seven goals five times - all of which have come in the 13-game stretch since Jan. 10.

Getting that offense going has been key for the Checkers this season - in games where they have scored at least four goals they are a perfect 20-0-0-0, but in games where they fall under that threshold they are 7-16-3-0.

KIRILL THE THRILL

With a perfect 20-for-20 showing in Monday’s win over Hartford, Kirill Gerasimyuk earned his third shutout in 12 appearances this season. That ties him with Laval’s Jacob Fowler for the league lead among rookie netminders and ties him for third in the AHL overall. Those three shutouts also now tie the Russian goalie for the most by a Checkers rookie, matching Cooper Black’s output from last season. Seven goalies have recorded more shutouts than that in a single season for Charlotte, with Justin Peters (2012-13) and Ken Appleby (2024-25) sharing the franchise record with six.

POWER SURGE

The Checkers took advantage as Hartford came unglued in Monday’s tilt, racking up three goals across a five-minute major penalty to Trey Fix-Wolansky - the final of which came via a five-on-three advantage. The 3-for-7 showing in that game snapped a seven-game run in which Charlotte was 1-for-19 on the man advantage and was the first time the team recorded more than two power-play goals in a game this season. Despite that outburst, the Checkers slot into the bottom half of the league’s power-play rankings, tying for 22nd in the AHL.

On the flip side, the Checkers killed all four of the Wolf Pack’s power-play opportunities on Monday to further strengthen one of the league’s top penalty kills. Charlotte ranks second in the AHL and has successfully killed 17 of its last 18 times shorthanded.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Relive all nine(!!!) goals from Monday's win!

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Injury Notes

• Trevor Carrick is out for at least two weeks with an upper-body injury, per head coach Geordie Kinnear

RANKINGS

• Kirill Gerasimyuk is tied for the league lead among rookie goalies in shutouts (3)
• Mikulas Hovorka is tied for the league lead among defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Brett Chorske is tied for the league lead among rookies in shorthanded goals (2)
• Kirill Gerasimyuk is tied for third among AHL goalies in shutouts (3)
• Jack Devine is tied for third among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (1)
• Jack Devine ranks fifth among AHL rookies in points (32)
• Jack Devine is tied for fifth among AHL rookies in plus-minus (+16)
• Cooper Black ranks sixth among AHL goalies in minutes played (1651:57)
• Jack Devine is tied for sixth among AHL rookies in assists (19)
• Jack Devine is tied for seventh among AHL rookies in goals (13)
• Cooper Black is tied for seventh among qualified goalies in goals-against average (2.47)
• Cooper Black is tied for third among qualified goalies in wins (18)
• Brett Chorske is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Jack Devine is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Jack Devine is tied for 10th among AHL rookies in shots on goal (91)
• Mike Benning is tied for eighth among AHL defensemen in goals (8)
• Mitch Vande Sompel is tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded assists (1)
• Ben Steeves is tied for 10th in the AHL in power-play goals (7)
• Mikulas Hovorka is tied for 10th among AHL defensemen in plus-minus (+18)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for 10th among AHL defensemen in shots on goal (94)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	17.6%	t-22nd
Penalty kill	85.6%	2nd
Goals per game	3.43	4th
Shots per game	30.63	6th
Goals allowed per game	2.74	7th
Shots allowed per game	24.57	1st
Penalty minutes per game	12.41	22nd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Wilmer Skoog, Ben Steeves, Jack Devine (32)
Goals	Ben Steeves (18), Wilmer Skoog (17), Jack Devine (13)
Assists	Jack Devine (19), Mike Benning (17), Three tied (15)
Power play goals	Ben Steeves (7), Robert Mastrosimone, Jack Devine (3)
Shorthanded goals	Brett Chorkse (2), Four tied (1)
Game-winning goals	Nolan Foote (4), Jack Devine, Brett Chorske, Ben Steeves(3)
Shots on goal	Ben Steeves (119), Nolan Foote (117), Wilmer Skoog (104)
Penalty minutes	Ben Steeves (62), Nolan Foote (36), Jack Devine (35)
Plus/minus	Mikulas Hovorka (+18), Jack Devine (+16) Jake Livingstone (+15)
Wins	Cooper Black (18)
Goals-against average	Cooper Black (2.47)
Save percentage	Cooper Black(.904)